Hi Everyone- just wanted to share some tips that I have obtained through the years. Hopefully I am posting this in the right place. If not, I apologize.
Been to many concerts over the years, and have been shut out of many concerts over the years. Through some extensive research and almost a borderline obssession regarding Ticketmaster and their "policies" I have obtained the following info that has helped me TREMENDOUSLY. Maybe this is all general knowledge, but if it helps just one person then great. If anything it may spark a conversation with additional tips:
1) For the love of God, be organized and ready when the public onsale gets close. If tickets go onsale at 10am, don't get up at 9:58 to get a cup of coffee.
2) Ticketmaster uses Time.gov as their clock, and you should too. One of the obstacles they put in place to discourage hacking programs (in addition to the "code" that you have to type in) is to stagger the times that tickets go onsale. Sometimes it may be 2 second past the hour, other times 4 seconds past, or 3 seconds.
(using 10am for this example) So when time.gov reads 10:00:00 and you immediately click on the link for the tickets page, you may be too early (especially if you try to jump the gun and click a couple seconds before the hour). Then you have to either refresh/go back and click the link again - and by then, guess what? The GA's just sold out. The goal is to get in on the first click, so then you don't have to go back or refresh. So wait until about 3 or 4 seconds past the hour then click, better to be 1 or 2 seconds late instead of too early - because by the time you get back in it's probably going to be too late.
3) Choose the tickets you want. Don't do "Best Available" because it is not always best available. TM likes to give you tickets in the upper level sometimes as their best available, to create a sense of panic. Then if you go back in and choose "lower level" magically there are tickets available in the lower level, or second level, etc. Funny how that works.
If you want floors choose floors. As far as the number of tickets, go with 2. For high demand tickets such as U2 floor tickets, the chances of you pulling down 4 are slim. Not impossible, but slim. So play the odds.
4) Typing in codes. Ugh. What a pain-in-the-you-know-what. Typically, you only need to type in one word, if multiple words appear. Usually the longest one. If both words look to be about the same length, type in both to be safe. Any numbers do not need to be typed! Same with any words or letters that are grossly smeared or blurred, just ignore them and type what you can read. So if you get "apartment 1178" just type "apartment" and click enter.
Hope this helps and good luck!! I think the time.gov thing has been the biggest help. Nothing better than when you time it just right and go in and pull down some floors in a matter of seconds!!
If you are using your watch, cell phone, or the time on your computer you are at a huge disadvantage. Thoe clocks could be many seconds or even a whole minute off! Those seconds are precious.
Been to many concerts over the years, and have been shut out of many concerts over the years. Through some extensive research and almost a borderline obssession regarding Ticketmaster and their "policies" I have obtained the following info that has helped me TREMENDOUSLY. Maybe this is all general knowledge, but if it helps just one person then great. If anything it may spark a conversation with additional tips:
1) For the love of God, be organized and ready when the public onsale gets close. If tickets go onsale at 10am, don't get up at 9:58 to get a cup of coffee.
2) Ticketmaster uses Time.gov as their clock, and you should too. One of the obstacles they put in place to discourage hacking programs (in addition to the "code" that you have to type in) is to stagger the times that tickets go onsale. Sometimes it may be 2 second past the hour, other times 4 seconds past, or 3 seconds.
(using 10am for this example) So when time.gov reads 10:00:00 and you immediately click on the link for the tickets page, you may be too early (especially if you try to jump the gun and click a couple seconds before the hour). Then you have to either refresh/go back and click the link again - and by then, guess what? The GA's just sold out. The goal is to get in on the first click, so then you don't have to go back or refresh. So wait until about 3 or 4 seconds past the hour then click, better to be 1 or 2 seconds late instead of too early - because by the time you get back in it's probably going to be too late.
3) Choose the tickets you want. Don't do "Best Available" because it is not always best available. TM likes to give you tickets in the upper level sometimes as their best available, to create a sense of panic. Then if you go back in and choose "lower level" magically there are tickets available in the lower level, or second level, etc. Funny how that works.
If you want floors choose floors. As far as the number of tickets, go with 2. For high demand tickets such as U2 floor tickets, the chances of you pulling down 4 are slim. Not impossible, but slim. So play the odds. 4) Typing in codes. Ugh. What a pain-in-the-you-know-what. Typically, you only need to type in one word, if multiple words appear. Usually the longest one. If both words look to be about the same length, type in both to be safe. Any numbers do not need to be typed! Same with any words or letters that are grossly smeared or blurred, just ignore them and type what you can read. So if you get "apartment 1178" just type "apartment" and click enter.
Hope this helps and good luck!! I think the time.gov thing has been the biggest help. Nothing better than when you time it just right and go in and pull down some floors in a matter of seconds!!
If you are using your watch, cell phone, or the time on your computer you are at a huge disadvantage. Thoe clocks could be many seconds or even a whole minute off! Those seconds are precious.
